Dance Moms: A New Era’s Gloria Hampton Explains Past Friendship With Abby Lee Miller

Dance Moms: A New Era star Gloria Hampton – also known as Miss Glo —  knows she has big shoes to fill when following in Abby Lee Miller ’s footsteps, and she explains she used to be friends with Abby during an exclusive video interview with Life & Style .

“We actually became friends through the original show. My daughter and I made a couple of appearances,” Glo tells Life & Style about meeting Abby, 58, on the original Lifetime show when she appeared on seasons 3 and 4 with daughter Kaeli Ware . “We go back a long way in the dance world, so we kind of bonded over that and became very good friends.”

Glo adds that Abby did “congratulate” her when she booked her gig on Hulu’s Dance Moms: A New Era . “I did reach out to her at some point during filming to come join the team and visit us,” she shares. “She wasn't really receptive and I think, like, her demeanor changed a little bit through the text messages that I got.”

“It was pretty clear that she just maybe wasn't as supportive as I expected her to be,” the reality star continues, adding that she and Abby “haven't talked since.”

Despite not being on speaking terms at the moment, Glo says that she hopes she and Abby can “chat again and that she would support the show” because “she was a big part of making it what it is.”

Glo also reflects on the inevitable comparisons she will get to Abby, though says she believes viewers will “see a very clear difference” between their coaching styles and the new version of the show.

“The name of the show is Dance Moms: A New Era . The world has changed drastically in 11, 12 years,” she says, noting that her students at Studio Bleu in Ashburn, Virginia, “are very different” than Abby’s students were at the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“The kids speak their minds,” Glo continues. “I have a different teaching style. I've been doing this for nearly 40 years … I like to think I have a very good reputation in the dance industry. So hopefully they will see that difference.”

Abby starred on Lifetime’s Dance Moms from 2011 until 2019, and helped helm the careers of dancers including Maddie Ziegler, JoJo Siwa and Chloe Lukasiak . Meanwhile, fans will get to watch Glo train and help a new group of dancers at Studio Bleu on the reboot.

“I'm excited for fans to see the dancing, these amazing little faces,” Glo tells Life & Style about the dance team, sharing that viewers can also expect to see “plenty of mama drama” between the new stars.

However, she says that the new show is a “positive experience for these girls.” Glo says, “These kids hold a special place in their heart for me and me for them. So I'd like to think that moving forward with this rendition of the team, that it's looked at more positively.”

“I think there was a lot of negativity behind the way the other coach coached,” she says about Abby. “I can't speak for what those kids lived, but I also … I trust that they feel the way they feel .”

All 10 episodes of Dance Moms: A New Era premiere on Hulu on Wednesday, August 7.